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Article: Teen biz flies high. (Physical News).(Sean Frawley and Dan Getz create Ornithopter Technologies)
- Article from:
- Science World
- Article date:
- September 27, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Scholastic, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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High school pals Sean Frawley and Dan Getz share a passion for flying machines. But when they wanted to craft a toy ornithopter, a contraption that flies by flapping its wings, they found few build-it-yourself kits available. Far from discouraged, the Warwick Valley High students in Warwick, N.Y., spied a business opportunity: They invented their own ornithopter kit--based on a design by a 19th century French inventor--and launched the online Ornithopter Technologies. "I've always been fascinated by anything that flies," says Frawley.
Ornithopter Technologies' 50-centimeter (20-inch)-wide models are made of balsa wood and tissue paper, and powered by a twisted ...